Football | 12/18/2023 2:59:18 PM
Raylens Boutin of SUNY Brockport and Cole Burgess, Zac Boyes and Jaden AlfanoStJohn of NCAA Division III Champion SUNY Cortland were named to the 2023 D3football.com All-America Team. Boutin was a first team pick, Burgess was a second team selection, Boyes garnered third team plaudits, while AlfanoStJohn earned fourth team honors. All four student-athletes earned their first D3football.com All-America honor.
Boutin, a senior defensive back, earned AFCA first team All-American accolades on Dec. 11. Earlier this season, Boutin was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, while earning his third All-Empire 8 first team selection and third D3football.com All-Region accolade. He led a Brockport defensive unit that is third in Division III, allowing just 212.2 total yards per game. In addition, the Brockport defense is 11th in DIII, allowing just 140.4 passing yards per contest and ninth, allowing just 12.3 points per game. Boutin, a native of Nyack, NY, finished the year with 51 tackles, including 35 solo stops to go along with 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a pair of interceptions and nine passes defended. In addition, Boutin earned All-region second team honors as a return specialist. He averaged 16.3 yards per punt return, which is fifth-best nationally with five returns over 30 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Throughout his career, Boutin has made plays all over the secondary for Brockport's nationally recognized defensive unit. In total he has racked up 172 tackles (127 solo), 14 interceptions, 39 pass breakups, two blocked kicks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He has found the endzone for the Golden Eagles on six different occasions throughout his career. This includes four interceptions returned for a touchdown, with two coming in the same game against Framingham State back in 2019.
Burgess, a senior wide receiver, finished the 2023 season with 87 receptions for 1,375 yards and 16 touchdowns, including six 100-yard receiving games. He saved his best for last, catching 11 passes for 134 yards and two TDs, including the eventual game-winning score with just under two minutes left in regulation in Cortland's 38-37 win over North Central in the 50th Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Dec. 15. In addition, Burgess caught 12 passes for 145 yards and three TDs in the NCAA semifinals at Randolph-Macon, had five catches for 116 yards and a TD in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alma, and caught nine passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns versus Brockport in a win that clinched the Empire 8 title. His 14 TD receptions are the second-highest total in a season at Cortland, as are his 1,241 receiving yards.
Burgess is Cortland's career leader with 35 TD catches and second with 3,133 career receiving yards on 178 grabs.
Boyes, a junior quarteback, finished 271-of-375 passing (72.3 percent) for 4.020 yards and 44 touchdowns with just five interceptions and ran 144 times for 774 yards and eight scores. He recorded five 300-yard passing games and threw two or more TD passes in 13 of 15 games.
Boyes excelled in the postseason, throwing for 400 yards and five touchdowns in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alma, 279 yards and three scores in the NCAA semifinals at Randolph-Macon and saved his best for last, going 26-of-34 for 349 yards passing and five touchdowns in addition to rushing 16 times for 123 yards in Cortland's 38-37 win over North Central in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Dec. 15. Boyes became just the second quarterback in Cortland history to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 in the same game, as that performances earned him Stagg Bowl Most Outstanding Player of the game honors, as Cortland won its first NCAA National Championship.
Boyes is Cortland's single-season leader in passing yardage, TD passes and total offense (4,796) and the Red Dragons' career leader in passing yards (7,071), TD passes (73) and total offense (8,347).
AlfanoStJohn, a junior running back, carried the ball 260 times for 1,396 yards (5.4 per carry) and 17 touchdowns and has caught 17 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. A native of Westhampton, NY, AlfanoStJohn rushed for more than 100 yards six times, including three of Cortland's five NCAA playoff games. He ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the NCAA quarterfinals at Alma, 157 yards and a score in the first round at Endicott, and 108 yards on 16 carries, with two touchdowns, in the semifinals at Randolph-Macon.
In three seasons, AlfanoStJohn has garnered three All-Empire 8 first team accolades and has 3,177 career rushing yards on 588 carries with 42 rushing toudchdowns. He also has 54 career catches for 561 yards and two more scores.
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The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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